To Buy or Not To Buy Tag
by Alice I
Summary: Dropping from the bridge support while attached to a lifeline and flopping around like a rag doll while holding a seizing teenager had unforeseen consequences for John Gage. Story is now completely posted. TKX for reading.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** To Buy or Not To Buy - Tag  
**Author:** Alice I  
**Beta:** The Delirium Threeman, Oughtaknowbetter  
**Summary:** This is a tag to the episode To Buy or Not to Buy. I remember thinking that when Johnny fell from that bridge holding the boy having the seizure he would have been hurt some. I mean he flopped around spinning several times like a rag doll on the end of that line. It looked horrifying and I was waiting for the line to snap with all that pressure on it. This is what could have happened afterward.  
**Disclaimer:** It's Fan Fiction

**A/N:** I want to thank my Betas for helping me with the technical aspects of the story. You guys rock. This story is finished and only needs to be posted. That is my New Year's resolution! My muse has a serious case of A.D.D. and she flits around so much that many stories sit unfinished on my hard drive. Seriously she started out in Pasadena, then for unknown reasons ended up in Camelot then she took a vacation to Hawaii and refused to leave and now she has wound up in Carson City! I do have two other Emergency! stories that are currently being written, but they are both a long way off from being completed so I won't begin to post them until they are done.

I tend to stick to cannon as strictly as possible so Roy isn't listed as Johnny's next of kin in any of my stories, Dwyer could be called Bill or Charlie or what ever other name he has had over the 7 seasons of this show, and my guys will never ever end up in a 'slash' type relationship with each other. I have also tried very hard to keep more modern phrases out of the dialogue. There are phrases that we use today as a matter of course that simply wouldn't have been used back in the seventies. In one of my stories I even referenced an old toilet paper commercial that the younger folks would have no idea about, but Mr. Whipple and Charmin were a pretty commonplace reference from those days.

The details surrounding the internal bleeding and what happens to someone when they throw up nearly a quart of blood was loosely taken from real life experience with one of my kids. I could be wrong about the surgical intervention, but it seemed logical. Oughtaknowbetter set me straight on the drugs and IV's that would have been ordered and the rest I took from a combination of personal experience and what I have seen in the various ERs I've worked in over the years.

Please feel free to voice your opinion of this or any of my other stories. I put them out here because on this site there is an audience for this type of writing and I want to share these stories with those who would appreciate them.  
Please enjoy,  
Alice I

**To Buy or Not To Buy - Tag**

Equipment checks may be boring, but I really needed the mundane task to bring my emotions back into equilibrium. I had spent most of the morning really steamed at Johnny. How could he buy that house out from under me? For a while there I wasn't sure I ever wanted to talk to him again, but I was wrong. I was the one who told him over and over again that I wasn't ready to buy, that it wasn't the right time to buy, that I was just thinking about it. Why should I blame him for taking advantage of a great deal when I made it pretty clear I wasn't interested?

All of that frustration and anger that I felt toward my partner disappeared like a whiff of smoke in the instant he fell off the Johnson Canyon Bridge. When Peter Danbury went into an epileptic seizure and he dragged Johnny with him from the bridge I nearly had a heart attack. I'll admit right here and now that it scared the hell out of me. Oh sure I knew that Johnny was attached to the lifeline, but that's beside the point. Lines break, people fall, firefighters die doing their jobs. If that line hadn't held, both Johnny and Peter would be dead. There is no question in anyone's mind as to what the outcome would have been if they had fallen to the unyielding asphalt from that height.

I lowered Johnny and Peter to the ground, and Peter is fine, but the adrenaline rush of fear took a long time to dissipate. As Johnny and I performed our equipment check, my heart felt light. There was no more anger, just relief that he was still here safe and sound by my side. Cap came around the front of the squad and I looked up only to see something in his eyes that I completely understood. His gaze rested on Johnny for just a moment, but in that moment I could see that the near calamity had unsettled him as much as it did me. He raised his arm and rested it on the side mirror of the squad in an almost awkward gesture.

"Well, it bears repeating, that was nice work today," he said, in a voice that betrayed none of what I saw flash through his eyes.

"Well, thank you." I replied, and in that moment I decided it was a perfect opening. "How else am I gonna get him to sell me that house?"

Johnny pasted that crooked smile on his face and I knew that everything between us would be okay. "I'm not gonna sell you that house."

"Come on," I said, as I tapped his leg, "what are ya gonna do with all those bedrooms and all those trees?"

Johnny actually looked pensive for a moment. "Well, I must admit, I have had second thoughts," he said, as he placed the oxygen mask over his face checking the flow rate.

I glanced up at Cap who smiled broadly. He could see that we were working things out, and I'm sure he was pleased about that. I looked back at Johnny who didn't miss the silent communication between Cap and me.

"I can't sell ya the house for the same price I bought it at." He said in what I'm sure he thought was a perfectly reasonable tone. I knew he was winding me up, but after coming so close to losing him, I decided to play along.

"Why not?"

I don't think he was expecting that because he stopped and took a breath, thinking. Then he started listing off reasons that he seemed to be pulling completely out of thin air as he ticked them off on his fingers.

"Appreciation, wear and tear, points..."

"Points?" He was only parroting what Dixie and Morton said last shift. I'm still unclear what points are, and I'm positive Johnny doesn't know either.

"Profit."

Now he is pushing it a bit. "Profit? Profit? Profit, from a friend?" Two can play this game I thought. I stood up appealing to Cap. "From a friend? I save his life, and this is what I get."

Johnny stood up at that comment. "Yeah! You saved my life, but last week I saved your life, twice!" he said holding up two fingers.

"Once." I said just as he repeated. "Twice."

I could see Cap rolling his eyes but the smirk on his face mirrored my own. Things were back to normal. I crossed my arms, prepared to continue the good natured argument, when Johnny just stopped and closed his mouth. It almost looked like he was trying to keep from saying something. He squatted back down and grabbed the oxygen tank with a deep sigh. For a moment I thought that he was seriously upset with me over this house business. I didn't have time to ponder it as the tones went off again.

"Squad 51, unknown type rescue, 1435 Lattimore Rd, cross street Lincoln. 1-4-3-5 Lattimore Rd. Time out 13:25."

Johnny and I quickly loaded up the equipment as Cap acknowledged the call. I slipped into the driver's side of the cab and Cap handed me the slip of paper with the address. When I handed the address to Johnny he wouldn't look over at me, keeping his eyes cast down to the map book in his lap. What happened in the last two minutes to make his whole attitude and demeanor change? I wanted to talk with him about it, but it was time to work, time to push all personal issues aside and focus on the job.

"Turn right in two blocks." Johnny said, but his voice was strained.

I couldn't help looking over at him. Something was wrong and I didn't have a clue what it could be. What I saw alarmed me. He had become pale as a sheet and had broken out in a sweat. I noticed a tremble in his hands as he traced the route we were taking with his fingers.

"Hey, are you all right?" I asked him as I touched his arm. He was cold and clammy and my alarm ratcheted up a few notches.

"I.. Roy... I don't feel so..." Johnny said, panting; his breath coming in quick short gasps. "Pull over!"

I reached for the mike to call dispatch as I pulled the squad to the side of the road. "LA, Squad 51. We have a code I at Main and Lexington. Dispatch another squad to our call as well as an ambulance to this location."

As soon as the squad stopped, Johnny opened the passenger door and bolted from the cab. We had pulled up along the side of a construction site that was fenced off.

"Johnny!" I shouted as he staggered toward the fence and grabbed a hold of it trying to remain standing.

I jumped out and ran around the front of the squad to get to him. His color was grey and his body was shaking as he dropped his head down. My mind was racing. Was he having some kind of delayed reaction to the adrenalin of our earlier rescue? I could see that his knees were about to buckle underneath him so I grabbed him around the waist to try to support his weight. That was when he threw up, almost as if response to my touching his midriff.

What ever I had thought about delayed reactions washed away in a horrifying wave replaced by all of the fear and near panic I felt earlier when he and Peter fell from the bridge as I watched Johnny vomit bright red blood.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **My goodness! What a response! I got up this afternoon and was surprised to see that so many folks had opened and read it. Thank you for the interest in my story.  
JS you are absolutely correct! The complete status meant the story was written but I planned to post a chapter a day. I have three other stories out there in other fandoms who languish unfinished and will eventually wrestle my muse back to them. I have changed the story status to avoid further confusion. I wasn't planning on posting again until around 2 AM when I was at work, but I guess I should post now.

I want to thank prophet144. Due to that review one of my betas was concerned that I might have been miffed and sent me a message that actually turned out to be an excellent addition to the story. In point of fact, I wasn't miffed about the review. The person was a little confused by the status and didn't have all of the correct medical information, but that didn't make it a bad review. In the end it turned out to be helpful due to the response it evoked, so no harm no foul.  
Thank you once again for the many responses. I am glad that the story has evoked so much interest.  
Alice I

**Chapter Two**

It seemed to take a long time for him to stop retching, but when he finally did, I eased him down to the ground against the fence.

"Roy, I... oh, God." He looked over at the ground colored red and his face turned a shade lighter before looking up at me with frightened eyes. "I'm sorry." was all he managed to say before his eyes rolled up and he slid down to the pavement like a wet rag.

I pulled him away from the fence to position him better for assessment as I tried to rouse him. "Johnny? Hey, come on man don't do this." I called in vain, but he had gone limp. He responded with a groan and half opened glassy eyes to a sternal rub, but he was beyond talking to me.

What the hell was he sorry for? I had to force my mind to calm down and switch to professional mode. I ran to the squad and grabbed the drug and trauma boxes and bio-phone quickly opening them to pull out the equipment I would need. I was about to run back for the data-scope and defibrillator when I looked up at the sound of sirens. I had never been so happy to see Big Red rolling down the road. Cap jumped out before Mike had brought the rig to a complete stop and ran over to me.

"We heard your transmission. What the hell happened, Roy?"

"I'm not sure, but I think Johnny may have been hurt when he fell off that bridge this morning. Can you grab the data-scope and defibrillator for me?" Knowing that my crew was here to back me up, I quickly took a set of vitals on Johnny, which only served to increase my anxiety. "Marco, get his legs elevated!"

Marco used the larger trauma box and shoved it up under Johnny's feet as I set up the bio-phone. "Rampart, this is County 51, how do you read?"

Dixie's voice responded over the phone. _"Go ahead, 51."_

"I have a 27-year-old paramedic. He fell earlier today from a bridge on a lifeline. He is now diaphoretic, and has vomited copious amount of bright red blood. Vital signs are respirations 36 and shallow, blood pressure 80 over 40, pulse 124 and thready. Rampart, be advised the victim is John Gage."

I turned the bio-phone over to Cap because I would need both hands as I began to pull out the IV set up I knew would be ordered momentarily. Cap listened to the transmission from Rampart then turned to me asking about bruising in the abdominal area.

I could have seriously kicked myself for neglecting to check that. What the hell was wrong with me? I pulled up Johnny's shirt and could see two lines that were slightly blue that outlined where the life belt had been strapped around his waist. There was a clear swelling along the left side of his abdomen but it hadn't discolored as much as one would think for the amount of blood he had just vomited. I palpated his belly and was not pleased by the stiffness I felt. Johnny moaned a bit as I palpated his belly and he turned unfocused eyes to me. I have to give it to Cap; he calmly repeated everything I said with a steady voice.

"Rampart there are some linear bruises that show where the life belt was strapped to him. The left side of the abdomen is slightly rigid and moderately distended."

"_51, it sounds like a rupture. Start an IV with normal saline wide open and elevate his legs. Do you have an ambulance on scene?"_

Cap repeated the IV request to me and shouted over to Mike to get an ETA on the ambulance.

I already had the IV set up and inserted that as Cap continued to relay information to Rampart. "The legs are already elevated. That's a negative on the ambulance, Rampart. Dispatch gives us an ETA of..." Cap looked back at Mike.

"Almost ten minutes, Cap."

"Rampart, LA dispatch gives us an ETA of ten minutes for the ambulance." Cap listened for a moment and simply repeated Dr. Brackett's question "Is the patient conscious?"

I tapped Johnny's cheek trying to get him to talk to me, but only got another moan as his glazed eyes moved back and forth. "He's conscious, but stuporous and responds to painful stimuli. His pulse is up to 135 now."

Cap looked more worried that his voice betrayed as he relayed the information. "Rampart want's a strip, Roy."

I knew that this would be necessary and had already pulled out the chest leads. Within thirty seconds I had the leads attached and looked up to Cap. "I'm sending the strip on lead two."

"Hold for a strip on lead two, Rampart." Cap said into the bio-phone, as we watched the data-scope.

Cap turned back to Mike and with only a look they communicated the need for that ambulance. Mike ducked his head inside the cab of Big Red for a moment and then called out, "It'll be another 7 minutes on that ambulance, Cap."

Cap seemed to come to a conclusion on his own, but knowing Dr. Brackett I'd be willing to place a bet that it was his suggestion. "Marco, grab the stokes from the squad, we're taking him in on the engine. Let's move, people."

The IV fluid seemed to be doing the job and by the time we got Johnny loaded up in the stokes he started coming around again.

"Roy… wha'? Oh, man my belly hurts."

"I know. Does anything else hurt, Johnny?"

He shook his head but then he began to swallow hard and his face took on an even whiter pallor. I knew what was about to happen. "Cap, turn him now!" I shouted.

Cap was holding the feet of the stokes while I was up at the head. Chet and Marco were manning the sides, and unfortunately for Chet it was toward his side that we tipped the basket just as Johnny threw up again. In any other circumstance Chet would have complained about having his shoes soiled in such a manner, but his expression mirrored fear and horror because the only thing coming out was more blood.

I don't know how I kept it together. The amount of blood staining the street was more than alarming. Johnny passed out after the last bout of nausea and we got him up on top of the rig. Chet stayed with me while Marco drove the squad. A re-check of Johnny's vitals made my heart sink.

"Rampart, this is 51."

"_Go ahead, 51."_

"The patient just threw up more blood. Blood Pressure is down - 60 by palpation. Pulse is 135 and weak. Respirations are 30 and shallow. Patient is now unresponsive and shocky."

"_51, insert a second IV normal saline wide open in the other arm. What is your ETA?"_

"IV normal saline, wide open. ETA is 5 minutes." I repeated as I set up the second IV. Chet continued to try and get a blood pressure while I tried to start the IV in Johnny's other arm, no small task on a fire engine screaming down the road.

We had brought patients into the ER on the engine before; it was rare, but it happened from time to time. Johnny himself had arrived on the engine three years ago when he was bitten by a rattlesnake. It never ceased to draw a lot of attention when the engine backed up to the ER ambulance bay doors. For my own part, I barely noticed the glut of on-lookers as we lowered the stokes down. I was so focused on Johnny that I barely even noticed the ER staff as the flurry of activity around my partner intensified. I kept monitoring his blood pressure while Dr. Brackett examined him.

I vaguely remembered Brackett ordering blood chemistry, CBC, four units of whole blood for transfusion, an ultrasound of the abdomen, and a request to make an OR room ready. I'm not sure when I got ushered out of the treatment room and into the doctor's lounge, but that was where I found myself wondering if I would ever see my partner again.

Cap stepped into the lounge and took a seat across from me. He didn't say anything for a few moments, and then he sighed deeply. "What happened, Roy? He was fine at the station. How could he get so sick so fast?"

I may be a paramedic, but I'm not a doctor. I had been asking myself the same question, even though I was pretty sure I knew the answer. "I don't really know, Cap. I think maybe when he fell from the bridge this morning he got hurt and didn't realize it. I couldn't really see very well because the bridge abutment was between him and me, but I sure _felt_ how much he swung around on that line."

"Well, I did see it very clearly, and I'll tell you it scared me silly. He flopped around on the end of that line like a rag doll. I am still stunned that he didn't drop the kid. I'm pretty sure if it had been me, I would have."

"When the initial fall happened I think he tore something inside. The amount of adrenaline he had pumping through his system kept him from realizing that he was injured. He threw up all that blood, Cap. That means he was bleeding internally."

Cap shook his head as if trying to shake something loose. "I just don't get how he can seem fine one minute and so gravely ill the next."

I understood his confusion and had been thinking about that for however long I had been sitting in that lounge not drinking the stale coffee. "Cap, we were doing our equipment check, so he was squatting down. If he tore the lining of his stomach but it was a small tear, then that position would have put pressure on it and slowed the bleeding. It was right after he stood up that things changed. That's all I can guess."

"It sounds reasonable, I guess, but I know far less than you do about this kind of thing."

Cap sat there for another minute before he nudged my arm. "What is it, Roy? What aren't you telling me?"

That made me feel even worse. There was no reason to make Cap worry more than he already was. "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm keeping anything from you. It's just... You saw how much blood he lost. He's bleeding internally so there is more than what we saw on the ground. Cap, Johnny isn't a huge man, and that's an awful lot of blood to lose."

"Try not to worry, Roy. I've stood down the squad until I can find a replacement for Johnny. You stay here and call as soon as you know how he's doing, okay?"

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **This chapter isn't just filler. It is meant to get inside Roy's head as he deals with his feelings about the situation not only with the house but with how sick Johnny is. So, as it turns out there is one more chapter. I'll post that sometime tomorrow.  
I would have posted this chapter last night while I was at work, but we had a pretty busy night in the ER. For some reason we have had a real run on appendicitis and subdural bleeds. There have been 5 hot appendixes in the past two weeks and 4 bleeds. It's a little weird. I've been doing more CT scans in the past few weeks than the past three months combined!

**Chapter Three**

Cap had to leave and put the engine back in service as well as find a replacement for Johnny. I briefly wondered who it would be; probably Dwyer or Billings, but it really could have been any of the paramedics in the county. I can work with pretty much anyone, but I also know it was going to feel awkward seeing someone besides Johnny sitting in the squad next to me.

Once again I tried to think back to what I had missed; how this could have happened without me realizing it. I was one of the first paramedics in the county. I had the most intensive training, by virtue of being the first one and going through more than just the training program, but helping to put together the workings of the program. How could I not have suspected that a drop like that had caused some damage? I had to shake those thoughts loose. I knew in my head that I was not at fault, but somehow my heart just didn't want to go along with that. It made me wonder, not for the first time, why guilt seemed to be the first reaction of many firemen to situations like this.

I stood up from the table in the lounge and began pacing, the stale cold coffee forgotten. I had nothing left to do but wait. I was never very good at waiting, but this time seemed worse. I had a feeling that the issue with the house was unresolved, regardless of how I'd felt earlier. Maybe that is what was nagging at me. As I thought about it some more it occurred to me that I had gone from being angry with Johnny for buying the house that I wanted, to trying to finagle him into selling it to me. Maybe that was the root cause of the guilt I was feeling. Why shouldn't Johnny have that house? He deserved to own a decent home as much as any guy. So what if he was single. Maybe he was starting on the road to settling down. Maybe he had met a girl who he saw as someone more than a date for any given weekend and just hadn't shared that with me yet. Maybe he just wanted to have a place where he could sleep without neighbors on the other side of the wall constantly arguing at 2 in the morning.

I decided to call Joanne. She could always help me sort out my feelings when they were a jumbled mess. She provided me with an anchor to ground me when I felt like the world or circumstances were spiraling out of my control. I started our conversation with the news about the house. I needed to work up to the point where I told her that I might lose my best friend. I didn't know what I expected, but her response to Johnny buying the house was a surprise to me.

"_Roy, you were waffling, weren't you?"_

"I don't waffle!" I replied defensively.

"_You do. So - Johnny bought the house. We'll just keep looking for one that suits us. You can't really blame him for wanting it, even if it seems a bit much for a single man living on his own. Is he happy with the purchase?"_

"I... yeah, I think..."

In an instant my mind brought me back in the kitchen at the station. Johnny walked in practically bubbling and pleased about some news he wanted to share, but I was still so sore about the house that I cut him off with my own complaint. Of course he was happy about the purchase, but my attitude wrecked that for him. I felt my stomach drop as the feeling of guilt increased. Some friend I turned out to be.

"_Roy?"_

Joanne's question brought me back from my own internal musings. "I'm pretty sure he was happy about buying the house at least until he found out I was upset. He did say something about having second thoughts, but..."

"_Second thoughts? Look, Roy, if you really want the house and Johnny is having second thoughts, then that works out, doesn't it? Can't we just buy it from him."_

"Yeah, well about that... I'm not sure I want to anymore."

"_Roy, you aren't making sense. You were pretty upset yesterday when you found out that someone else had bought the house. I'd think you'd be pleased that it turned out to be Johnny and not some stranger. Why wouldn't you want to ask Johnny to sell it to us, especially if he is having second thoughts?"_

"I just don't, Jo. I don't want something like this to destroy our friendship. He bought the house fair and square."

"_Roy, what's wrong? You haven't let this come between you two, have you?"_

"What? No, I mean, I don't think so."

I was suddenly reminded of Johnny's silence, but no wait, that was because he was sick not because he was upset! Right?

"I was pretty sore this morning, but..."

"_What did you say to him, Roy? Please tell me you didn't say something that you can't take back."_

"No, Jo, I didn't say anything like that. I just don't..." I knew that my voice betrayed me. I tried to stop the quiver but I couldn't. I kept picturing Johnny pale and weak, and losing all that blood. "Oh, God, Jo."

"_What happened to Johnny?"_

She knew. Joanne could always read me even when we were just on the phone.

"We had a rescue today at the Johnson Canyon Bridge. A young boy climbed up the abutment and got out on the crossbar under the bridge. He was a good hundred feet up. Johnny climbed up after him. The boy was an epileptic. Before Johnny could get a life belt on him he had a grand mal seizure. He tried to hold onto the kid, but they fell, Jo, both of them."

Joanne gasped before I could say anything more. _"Oh my, God, Roy. Is he... did he... die?"_

"No! Johnny had a life belt on, but the boy caused them to drop hard. Trust me I know, I was holding Johnny's life line. The line was wrapped around the bridge abutment, but the jerk when they dropped nearly took me off the support arch. We didn't realize that anything had happened. Johnny didn't realize it either, but that drop, it tore something inside. Jo, he's been internally bleeding for a couple of hours. He's in surgery now. I was so mad at Johnny this morning, but when he fell all I could think about was losing him."

"_I'm confused. If you didn't know anything was wrong then when did you know, and how did he wind up in the hospital?"_

"After the rescue and we got the kid to Rampart, we went back to the firehouse. We had station chores and equipment checks to do. Somewhere along the line I realized that I wasn't upset anymore. Sure I wanted to buy the house, but it's just a house."

I fell silent for a moment, the guilt eating at me.

_"There's something you aren't telling me, Roy."_

Leave it to my wife to be able to read my silence. "I wasn't mad at Johnny, but I did start trying to goad him into selling the house to me."

_"Goad him? How?"_

Even though I was alone in the lounge I still felt my face redden with shame. "I basically implied that since I saved his life he should sell the house to me. I was kidding, well mostly."

_"I see." _Joanne didn't have to say much to get to the heart of things. With those two words 'I see.' she made it clear that she wasn't impressed with what I had done. I wasn't either.

_"I still don't understand how you realized that he had been hurt. It sounds like he was fine."_

"Well, we were sort of joking about how many times we have saved each other's lives when another call came in. We were on our way to that call when he got sick, Jo. Really sick. I canceled us on the run and pulled over and he went from bad to worse in a matter of seconds."

I considered telling her about the hematemesis*, but that was a graphic detail that wasn't important to what I was trying to tell her.

"_What do the doctor's say?"_

"I don't know, not yet. I'm just waiting right now."

_"Roy, I don't think it was wise to try and guilt Johnny into selling us the house, but it isn't something you should burn yourself up over either. Johnny is your friend and your partner. He won't hold that against you and if your situations were reversed, he might very well have tried __to do the same thing. I understand how ill he is, but don't borrow trouble. You were with him, and you got him to the hospital as soon as he showed signs of being sick. He'll be okay. You've told me enough times that the doctors at Rampart are the best, so trust in them."_

"I know, you're right. I'm just... I haven't been this worried since he had that monkey virus."

"_Johnny is strong. He made it through that virus and the rattlesnake bite. He'll make it through this too. Have a little more faith in his ability to bounce back. Call me when he gets out of surgery."_

I could hear the kids in the background. They had just come home from school and Joanne would need to see to them. "Okay, hun, I'll call you later. Give the kids kisses for me okay?"

_"I will, and, Roy... I love you."_

"I love you too."

I did feel better after talking with Joanne. It didn't help much with the waiting, but at least I knew how I would handle the question of the house. I'd just keep looking. There were plenty of houses out there; Joanne and I would just find a different house. If... no _when_ Johnny made it through this he would have his house without pressure from me to sell.

TBC

* hematemesis - The vomiting of blood


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It was only another half an hour before Dr. Brackett entered the lounge in his OR scrubs. He was smiling, which immediately put me at ease.

"He's gonna be just fine, Roy." The doctor said, as he took a seat at the round table. "There was a small tear in the posterior stomach just below the spleen. It clearly began as a partial thickness tear but likely opened up wider in response to some sort of pressure. Lifting any heavy object would have done it, or really even standing up quickly depending on the size of the initial rupture."

My mind went back to the station and our equipment check. When the tones went out for that unknown type rescue Johnny picked up the oxygen as well as the defibrillator and data-scope to put away while I closed up and stowed the drug boxes. He lifted the heavier equipment. Dr. Brackett's voice pulled me away from my thoughts.

"We got the tear sewn up and have transfused him with four units of whole blood. I'll want to keep him here for a couple of days to monitor his recovery, but he should be able to go home by the end of the week. It could have been a lot worse," Brackett added. "You got him here in good time, Roy."

I felt weak-kneed relief wash over me, making me grateful I was already sitting down. "He threw up so much blood. I just can't believe that I didn't see the problem before it was almost too late. I'm a trained paramedic, you'd think I would have noticed something."

Dr. Brackett got up and poured himself a cup of coffee as I lamented my shortsightedness before sitting down again. "Listen to me, Roy. There was no way for you to have foreseen this. I doubt that Johnny even realized anything was wrong. Partial thickness tears can take hours or even days to manifest serious symptoms."

He took a sip of the coffee as he looked at me trying to gauge if I was still blaming myself. "Try to look at it this way, Roy. He was lucky that this happened at the beginning of your shift. If he had gone home it is entirely possible that by the time he realized something was seriously wrong he would have been alone with no immediate help. Think about how quickly he went downhill. If he were home alone the outcome could have been tragic."

Dr. Brackett was right, of course. I didn't really feel guilty about not recognizing a hidden injury earlier. The guilt I felt had nothing to do with Johnny's physical condition. "Can I see him?"

Dr Brackett smiled as he stood up. "He's in recovery right now, but you can go see him when he's moved to a room in the next thirty minutes or so. I'll have Dixie come and get you when he is settled."

I stood up; trusting my legs to hold me now that the shock of relief had settled, and shook Dr. Brackett's hand. "Thanks, Dr. Brackett. I guess I'll give the guys a call and give them the good news."

"You do that, Roy. I guess I'd better go get cleaned up and back to the ER." He said, as he took one last sip of coffee before heading out the door.

I felt giddy with relief as I dialed the station.

"LA County, Station 51. Captain Hank Stanley speaking."

"Hey Cap, it's Roy. Johnny is out of surgery and he's gonna be okay. They'll let me up to see him in about half an hour. Doc Brackett said he ended up with a small tear in his stomach when he fell from the bridge, but they were able to repair the damage. He'll be out of the hospital in a couple of days."

"That's great news, Roy! Hey, your replacement is Dwyer. He said he didn't mind the overtime. I'll have him come out in the squad and pick you up when he gets in."

After hanging up with the station I found myself pacing. The thirty minutes I would have to wait for Johnny to get to a room would be the longest of all, and I wished it would go by faster. Glancing down at my hands as I caught myself wringing them, I looked at my wedding band. Joanne! I promised to call her when I got news, so I quickly moved to the pay phone and dialed the number. Before she even had a chance to say hello I started speaking excitedly.

"He's gonna be okay, Jo! Doctor Brackett doesn't think he'll be here very long, a couple of days maybe."

"_Who's gonna be okay, Dad?"_

Chris had picked up the phone and in my excitement I didn't think about our seven year old answering the phone. "Um, hey Chris. Is your mom right there?"

"_She's getting Jen a snack. Who's gonna be okay?"_

I had really spilled the beans on this. I certainly didn't want to discuss something like this with Christopher. "One of my co-workers had a close call today, it's nothing to worry about, son. Would you please go get your mother?"

True to form for a young boy Chris just held the phone away from his mouth and shouted. _"Mom! Dad's on the phone! He said everything is okay with... uh... something."_

I heard Joanne take the phone from our son and tell him to go into the kitchen and sit at the table to do his homework. After a bit of grumbling on Chris' part I could hear him stomp off.

"_Roy? What was that Chris was saying?"_

"Sorry, Jo, I was so happy about the news I started talking before I realized who had picked up the phone. Johnny's going to be fine. He'll be home by the end of the week."

"_That's great news, Roy."_

I could hear the relief in her voice. Joanne liked Johnny well enough, but her real concern was for me and how l was going to be affected if something bad happened to him or between us. With that in mind I told her what I had been thinking since I'd hung up with her earlier.

"I've thought about it, about what you said. You're right, I was not sure about even _buying_ a house, let alone _that_ house. I didn't make any kind of commitment to that place. It's just brick and mortar and I don't care about it. If... What if Johnny had...?"

I stopped speaking for a moment as I forced myself to maintain my composure. For some reason my emotions were running amuck and that just wasn't what I wanted while talking to my wife about my decision concerning the house.

"Look, the point is, my friendship with Johnny is far more important than any building. We'll just keep looking for a house that we like, and when we find it, no waffling! We make an offer and see what happens."

Joanne was pleased to hear that I was no longer upset about the house and that I wasn't going to let it affect my relationship with Johnny. I spoke with her for a few more minutes, but as soon as Dixie walked into the lounge I quickly ended the call.

* * *

Johnny almost looked like a new man when I walked into his room. The last time I saw him he was grey, lifeless, and if I hadn't known differently I would have sworn I was looking at a corpse. Now he had some color back, although he was still pretty pale. His bed was raised to about a 45 degree angle and he turned alert albeit sleepy eyes toward me and plastered that classic crooked grin across his face. He must be on pain medication because he looked a little drunk.

"Hey, Roy."

"Hey, yourself. How are ya feeling now?" I asked him still a little concerned.

Johnny's face clouded a little as he frowned. "Not sure what happened. Dr. Brackett spoke with me when I woke up, but I was still coming out of anesthesia and I'm not really clear on what he told me. Is this because of falling from the bridge support?"

"Yeah, when you dropped like that, the life belt put enough pressure on your abdomen that you ended up with a small tear in your stomach. Do you remember feeling that happen?" I asked.

"The drop winded me some, but honestly I was so focused on holding onto Peter that I couldn't really think of anything else. Roy, I thought for sure I was going to drop him. First he was rigid from the seizure and then he was dead weight. I guess I was a little sore from being yanked around on the end of that line, but that was expected."

He paused for a moment and looked like he was trying to remember. "I guess now that I think about it, I was a bit sore around the middle after we finished at Rampart, but I had other things occupying my thoughts. We went back to the station and then got toned out for that unknown type rescue. That was when I started feeling sick, really sick. We pulled over and I got out."

Johnny stopped speaking for a moment and closed his eyes. I thought he had drifted back to sleep for a moment but he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Roy, when I saw all that blood, I thought..."

I heard anguish in his tone and saw true regret in his eyes which confused me.

"Honestly, Roy, I didn't know what had happened, but I thought that was it, game over. I'm sorry, _really_ I am. When I told you I wasn't gonna sell you the house, I was just yankin' your chain."

It was then that I understood why Johnny said he was sorry right before he passed out. "Johnny, you don't have to..." I started to say but he cut me off with more force than I thought possible for him after having just gotten out of surgery.

"Yes, Roy, I do! Just listen to me will ya? I swear I didn't try to buy the house out from under you. I honestly thought you didn't want it. I don't ever want something like that to wreck our friendship. Of course I'll sell you the house! I thought..."

I could see him struggling to say what he wanted to, so I just kept quiet and gave him the time he needed.

"God, Roy, dying isn't what scared me, it was the thought that I was goinna die while you were still mad at me."

I pulled over one of those hard plastic chairs and sat down next to the bed. I had to make sure he understood. "Look, Junior, I'm not mad at you. You had every right to buy that house. I don't care about it anymore. Really I don't. All I want you to do is concentrate on getting better. I don't want this house to come between us either. I stopped being sore about it as soon as you fell from that bridge this morning. All of a sudden nothing mattered except getting you and that boy down safely. So just forget about it okay?"

Johnny closed his eyes for a moment and once again I wondered if fatigue was pulling at him. He didn't open his eyes when he started speaking. "I'll tell you what, when I get out of here we'll sit down and talk about it. If you and Joanne still want the house then we'll just do whatever we need to do to transfer the mortgage."

His eyes slid open and he looked at me. "I mean you're right, what am I gonna do with all those bedrooms? That isn't a house for someone like me. I have no family, no wife or kids or..." A sort of wistful sadness passed over his features then was gone as quickly as it had come. "In any case you get the point, that house was built for a man with a family."

I couldn't help but admit to myself that a part of me still wanted the house, but after all of this I wasn't sure I could buy it from him. That was a question for another time so I just patted his shoulder and said, "You got it, Junior."

It was at that moment that the door to Johnny's room opened up and Dwyer stepped in. "Hey there, Johnny, what did you get yourself into now?" he said, with a smirk.

"Hi, Pally. Thanks for coming in." Johnny said. His voice was sounding thin and I could tell his strength was waning.

"No problem, man. I need the overtime. I'm in the market for a house and could use the extra money towards a down payment."

Johnny and I exchanged a look and couldn't help it. We both busted out laughing hysterically. Johnny grabbed his middle in clear discomfort, but I could see that he was okay as he waved me off.

"Hey, what's so funny?" Dwyer asked, utterly perplexed at our reaction.

The End

**A/N:** Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little tale. I'll try to get at least one of my other E! fics finished so I can start posting, but be aware that they are both H/C fics about Johnny. What can I say I'm a bit of a sucker for H/C. I have actually seen a couple of reviewers complain about all the H/C fic out there surrounding Johnny Gage. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me since he is by far the most popular character in the series, always has been, always will be.

I do have folks clamoring for me to finish an open H5O story as well as an open Merlin story. I really should wrestle the old muse back to them to finish. Once again my sincerest thanks to both The Delirium Threemen and Oughtknowbetter for beta reading this story.

Thank you to the readers in this fandom for the warm welcome. This is one of the nicer fandoms and I was so pleased to see so much open interest.  
Take Care  
Alice I


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